When I told people I was working on a story about the Jews of Kaifeng, some asked whether they’re really Jews. I’m sure you’ve been asked the same. How did you become interested in them, and how do you answer that question?

Fifteen years ago, when I was director of Jewish studies at Carmel School in Perth, I was invited to lecture on Jewish topics at Nanjing University, where one of the first Jewish studies departments in China had been launched a few years earlier. At the final lecture, Xu Xin, the professor who hosted me, gave me his book “The Legends of the Chinese Jews of Kaifeng.” Until then, I had never heard of the presence of Jews in Kaifeng or their synagogue that endured for seven centuries. This sparked an interest in learning more about this community. As well, the enthusiasm of Chinese students towards Jews and Judaism made me want to learn more about Chinese culture.

In 2009, I made my first visit to Kaifeng to research how Jewish culture survived for almost a millennium in spite of assimilation and language shifts. I was amazed to see this small group of Chinese people learning Hebrew, studying the Torah, celebrating the Shabbat and yearning to return to the land of Israel. As their ancestors had intermarried and practiced patrilineal descent, the Jewish descendants of Kaifeng understand full well that they are not considered Jewish according to Jewish law, where identity is determined by the mother. Their Jewish self-identification, however, is linked to their Chinese identity in which Confucian tradition honors ancestors. Emulating the customs and heritage of their forebears is the Chinese way of paying them respect.

One of the frustrations I have had when lecturing about Kaifeng’s Jews is that this concept is very difficult for Westerners to understand. Occasionally, at the end of my talks, a member of the audience will approach me with the question: “But they’re not really Jewish, are they?”

It’s striking to see people in a dusty little city in central China embracing a Jewish identity, through religious observance or cultural pride. How did the idea of a Jewish heritage survive in Kaifeng over all these tumultuous centuries?

The Jewish experience in Kaifeng was vastly different to that of the Jews in Europe. The Kaifeng Jews faced no discrimination and enjoyed economic, social and cultural integration. While Jewish culture in the West flourished due to the relative isolation of European Jews from the dominant Christian culture, Kaifeng Jewish culture was able to perpetuate itself through the values it shared with the Chinese. Filial piety, respect for elders, respect for scholarship and respect for traditional authority were ideals that enabled the Chinese Jews to view their heritage as harmonious with the dominant culture in China. Although it seems counterintuitive, the survival of their Jewish heritage resulted from their identification with Chinese culture. Before my first visit to Kaifeng, I met in Beijing with Avrum Ehrlich, then professor of Jewish studies at Shandong University. His parting words to me were: “Remember that they are Jewish, because they are Confucian!”

Some skeptics say that the revival of Jewish religion and identity in Kaifeng has a material motive — that people have claimed the identity so that they or their children can migrate, or to win aid from outsiders. What do you think has nurtured this revival?

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Moshe Yehuda BernsteinCreditBatsheva Bernstein

There is no denying that material motives have played a part in stimulating this revival. Organizations like Shavei Israel and the Sino-Judaic Institute have provided support for the venues of their communal gatherings. A few descendants have received scholarships and grants from these organizations. In addition, Shavei has facilitated aliyah — migration to Israel — for at least 17 of the younger members of the community, who have undergone formal conversion into Judaism and received Israeli citizenship.

However, reducing the motivations of the community to material motives neglects the most significant aspect of their self-identification as Jews: their collective historical memory and the Chinese notion of loyalty to one’s ancestors. These have been the internal motivators of Sino-Judaic identity. The material benefits are tangential.

Some Jewish descendants in Kaifeng are trying to find ways to be authentically Jewish while also proudly Chinese. How has that dialogue between Jewish and Chinese identities evolved in Kaifeng?

That dialogue began with the arrival of the first Jewish settlers to Kaifeng in the 10th century and has continued until today. The stelae that were kept in the courtyard of the synagogue frequently referred to the commonalities between the values, morals and ideas of Judaism and Confucianism and Taoism. Nearly all of the Kaifeng Jews I have spoken with expressed great respect for the Chinese classics. Most acknowledged an underlying affinity between Jewish and Chinese thought. A few said that while the Chinese traditions lacked the firm concept of a supreme deity, the value systems had striking similarities.

On a practical level, the community is realistic about the limitations to Jewish observance in Kaifeng. Working on the Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, is a necessity, and there is no infrastructure to support a fully Jewish lifestyle. But within these limitations they have made remarkable progress in cultivating aspects of their Jewish identity. I think that their expectations are modest. For example, while they would prefer to have a real synagogue, they are pragmatic enough to be satisfied with what they have achieved up until now: communal gatherings for Shabbat and holiday evenings, Hebrew-language skills for some, the shared liturgical rituals and the learning of Torah and Jewish traditions.

The Kaifeng community is under official pressure, with bans on group worship and the signs of their historical presence being removed. How will the Jewish community there come through all this?

The recent official pressure has pushed Kaifeng Jewish culture back in time. They are no longer allowed contact with foreigners, as was the case before the “reform and opening up” that began in 1978. As well, they are no longer allowed gatherings in communal venues but instead conduct Friday night services in their homes, like they did in the 1990s.

Although this appears to be a setback, my view is that the current situation could benefit the community in the long run. The support of the foreign NGOs in Kaifeng has always been a double-edged sword. It enabled the community to better develop practical tools to revive their heritage, but it has often been a cause of governmental concern, the likes of which we are witnessing today.

With the tools they have been given, they are now more capable than before of sustaining a kind of grass-roots Sino-Judaic identity. Their Hebrew-language skills, performance of the Shabbat Evening liturgy, celebration of the festivals, Torah study and the aliyah of many of their family members and friends, all ensure that they have the means to move forward independently in spite of official pressures. The historical Kaifeng Jews displayed ingenuity, resourcefulness and resilience in maintaining their heritage, and the contemporary community has the same traits to persevere.